Temperature regulator



Jan. 3, 1939. J. v. GIESLER TEMPERATURE REGULATOR Filed April 21, 1936 Patented Jan. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE The Fulton Sylphon Company,

Tenn., a corporation Application April 21,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to temperature regulators, and more particularly to temperature regulators adapted to control the flow of cooling medium through the cooling system of an internal combustion engine, such as are commonly employed in automobiles.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device of the type characterized which is simple in construction, composed of a relatively few parts which are easily and inexpensively manufactured, and inexpensive to assemble and install.

Other objects will appear as the description of the invention proceeds.

The invention is capable of receiving a variety of mechanical expressions, one of which is shown on the accompanying drawing, but it is to be expressly understood that the drawing is for purposes of illustration only; and is not to be construed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims for that purpose.

Referring in detail to the drawing, wherein the same reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts in both figures,

Figs. 1 and 2 are axial sections illustrating an embodiment of the present invention and respectively showing the valve in closed and open positions; and

Fig. 3 is an end view on a smaller scale looking from the left of Fig. 1.

In the form shown the temperature regulator includes a generally tubular housing ID of any suitable size, construction, material and cross sectional shape. As illustrated the housing It! is of such a character that it may be slipped within a hose line or other conduit, and be entirely enclosed or confined thereby, but if preferred the housing may be so constructed as to have hose connections attached to one or both ends thereof, with the housing I0 constituting a part of the passage through which the cooling medium is circulated between the water jacket of the engine and the radiator, all as well understood in the art.

Pivotally mounted within said housing I0 is a valve member H of generally dished formation, as illustrated, said valve member being of such shape and size as to fill or substantially fill the cross section of the passage through the housing it when disposed at an angle to the axis thereof, as shown in Fig. 1. The valve member is shown as irregular in shape so that said valve member may partly house the thermostat and yet properly clear the parts of the regulator as the valve member swings between wide open and completely closed positions, but it may be made of any suit- Knoxville, of Delaware 1936, Serial No. 75,635

able shape. It is preferably formed of sheet metal so that it may be stamped and shaped by a simple press operation.

Valve member I! is pivotally mounted on a transverse axis in any suitable way. As shown, diametrically opposite extremities of the valve member are provided with flattened tabs l2, and said tabs are pivotally mounted on the wall of the housing 10 in any suitable way, as by means of pins or rivets l3 passing freely through the holes in said tabs l2 and in the wall I0. Preferably the wall I0 has flattened or recessed portions at the location of these pivots so that the headed over ends thereof at the exterior of the housing I0 shall not project outwardly beyond the cylindrical surface of said housing- Valve member II is thereby mounted for movement about an axis defined by the pivots i3 and extending at right angles to the axis of the housing l0. As shown said axis li-es substantially in a diameter of the housing ill, but this is not essential.

Pivotally mounted on the wall of the housing I0 and pivotally attached to the valve member so as to exert a thrust thereon that is offset or eccentric with respect to the axis defined by the pivots i3 is a thermostat M of any suitable size, construction and character. As shown, thermostat i4 is composed of a tubular, deeply corrugated, expansible and collapsible metal wall or bellows l5 closed at its opposite ends by end walls It and Il suitably attached thereto as by soldering or brazing. End wall i6 is shown as of general disk formation whereas end wall I1 is dished to provide a reenetrant portion 1 8 which partly houses the connection between the thermostat and the valve member. A filling tube 19 is shown as projecting through and attached to the end wall l6, so that any suitable charge may be introduced into the thermostat, after which the thermostat may be sealed by pinching and soldering or otherwise hermetically closing the filling tube Hi. If preferred, however, any other suitable means for introducing a thermosensitive charge into the thermostat l4 may be employed.

Thermostat I4 is pivotally mounted on the wall of the housing H3 in any suitable way. As shown a lug, U-shaped strap or other suitable projection 20 is suitably attached to the end wall l6, as by soldering or brazing, and pivotally attached, as by a pin or rivet 2|, to a lug or other suitable projection 22 suitably attached to the wall of the housing, and here shown as headed over in an aperture 23 in the housing wall. As in the case of the pivots 13, the wall of the housing is preferably flattened or recessed as shown at 24 to receive the headed over extremity of the projection 22.

The opposite end I! of the thermostat is attached to the valve member in any suitable way so as to exert a thrust thereon in a line that is offset or eccentric with respect to the axis defined by the pivots l3. As shown, a lug or other suitable projection 25 is suitably attached to the end wall IT, as by brazing or soldering, and is pivotally attached, as by a pin or rivet 26, to a U-shaped strap 21 which provides a swivel joint with a headed post 28 attached to the valve member, said post and strap constituting an arm projecting inwardly to approximately the mouth of the depression in said valve member. As here shown said post is in the form of a bolt which projects through an aperture in the valve member and is attached thereto in any suitable way as by a nut 29 which may be staked to the bolt or soldered to the valve member or both after the parts have been adjusted to their suitable working relationship. Thus said arm and the thermostat are arranged as the arms of a toggle as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

If desired the valve member may be provided with a leakage opening, or dependence may be placed on the clearance of the periphery of the valve member from its housing, for assuring the designed circulation of cooling medium over the thermostat.

When the cooling medium is cold the parts are in the relative position shown in Fig. l, with the valve member ll engaging or substantially engaging the walls of the housing I!) and obstructing the passage through the housing. As

the temperature of the cooling medium rises, the thermostat l4 expands, and thereby exerts a thrust on the valve member in the line determined by the pivots 2| and 26. As this. line is oiTset or eccentric with respect to the axis defined by the pivots 13, the thrust of the thermostat on the valve member causes the valve member to pivot around its axis l3 and move toward the position shown in Fig. 2. During this movement the thermostat may also pivot on its axis 2!, while the valve member will pivot with respect to the thermostat about its axis 26, while the swivel joint at 21 and 28 prevents binding of parts by taking care of any lack of alignment. expansion of the thermostat eventually moves the valve member to the position shown in Fig. 2 wherein the valve member lies in the direction of the axis of the housing Ill and the passage therethrough is open. If desired a suitable stop may be provided for preventing the valve member moving beyond its fully opened position.

It will be observed that the present invention does not require the use of a spring as the thermostat is positively attached at its opposite extremities to the housing and to the valve member, and contraction of the thermostat as the temperature of the cooling medium decreases will result in the valve member being pulled back toward its closed position as shown in Fig. 1, the operation being the reverse of that heretofore described during the opening of the valve member. However, it is to be expressly understood that if preferred a spring may be used in conjunction with the thermostat, either interiorly or exteriorly thereof, to supplement the resilience of its lateral wall. The thermostat may if desired be charged at a pressure below atmospheric so that in the event of leakage said thermostat will expand and move the valve member Thus continued to its wide open position, in which event the difference in pressure exteriorly and interiorly thereof will, when the device is operating normally, assist in collapsing the thermostat and moving the valve member toward closed position as the temperature decreases.

It will be observed that the present invention provides a temperature regulator which is composed of a relatively few number of parts all of which are easy to make and assemble and therefore the regulator may be inexpensively produced. The housing ll! may be cut from a length of pipe or drawn to shape. The valve member, thermostat heads and connecting elements may all be formed from sheet metal pressed to shape. The pivot connections may be made from short lengths of pins suitably headed over or otherwise retained in position, or rivets may be employed as heretofore suggested. At the same time the thermostat is directly subjected to the temperature of the cooling medium flowing through the housing ill and is therefore sensitively responsive to temperature variations therein to move the valve member about its axis and predetermine the quantity of cooling medium flowing through the housing. The valve member I l partly houses the thermostat, and therefore the device is particularly compact.

While the embodiment of the invention illustrated on the drawing has been described with considerable particularity, it is to be expressly understood that the invention is not to be restricted thereto, as the same is capable of receiving a variety of mechanical expressions some of which will now readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, while changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement, proportion, material, size, etc., without departing from the spirit of this invention. Reference is therefore to be had to the appended claims for a definition of the invention.

What is claimedis:

1. In a temperature regulator for the cooling system' of an internal combustion engine, the combination of a tubular housing, a valve member pivotally mounted on the wall of said housing for movement about an axis transverse to the passage therethrough, a thermostat pivotally mounted at one end on the wall of said housing for pivotal movement in the direction of the axis of the passage through said housing, said thermostat having its axis in a plane at right angles to the axis of said valve member, and displaced laterally with respect to the axis of said valve member, and an arm pivotally connected to the opposite end of said thermostat and rigidly connected to said valve member whereby said thermostat oscillates about its pivotal mounting on said housing as it expands and contracts to move said arm and the valve connected thereto pivotally with respect to said thermostat and to said housing.

2. A temperature regulator according to claim 1 wherein the valve member is dished to partly embrace said thermostat and the pivotal mounting of said valve member leaves the depression in said valve member substantially unobstructed.

3. A temperature regulator according to claim 1 wherein the arm pivotally connected to the thermostat and rigidly connected to the valve member includes a swivel connection intermediate its length.

JEAN V. GIESLER. 

